Post-war Tasmania witnessed an influx of European migrants and displaced persons.

In the census of 1966, of 371,410 people in the State:

18,551 were born in the United Kingdom

3,367 in the Netherlands

2,016 in Germany

1,567 in Poland

1,448 in Italy

4,466 from other continental European countries.

In 1951, some 3,800 ‘displaced persons’ lived in Tasmania (although many of them had left by 1966). Many of Tasmania’s new European migrants came under contract to work for the Hydro-Electric Commission at remote hydro-construction villages such as Bronte Park and Butler’s Gorge.

With the swelling of its workforce the HEC’s development program continued unabated. Power stations were opened at Butler’s Gorge (1952), Bronte Park (1953), Tungatinah (1955), Wayatinah (1961), Liapootah (1961) and Catagunya (1962). The proposal to flood Lake Pedder in 1967, however, met with vehement opposition from environmentalists. Whilst the battle to save Lake Pedder was ultimately lost, the HEC’s subsequent proposal for a Gordon-below-Franklin dam was blocked in 1983 when the Federal Government intervened under a rising tide of pressure from environmental groups. The ‘Greens’ had emerged as a key political force in Tasmania.

The period also witnessed a strengthening of Aboriginal activism. The struggle to have Aboriginality recognised, claims for land rights and the return of Aboriginal skeletal and cultural material from museums and scientific collections were major issues of concern.

Unemployment reappeared as a major social issue during this period. In the early 1980s, unemployment reached the 10% level. Changing economic conditions forced many small factories to close and the industrial giants to cut back their work forces. The Government, traditionally a major employer in Tasmania, reduced staff. The service and tourism sectors experienced some growth.

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